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1-5 of 5
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Edward Elgar was born on June 2, 1857, in Broadheath, near Worcester, where his father named William Elgar, was a music shop owner and a piano technician. Elgar was the fourth of six children. He was self-taught in all musical instruments, that were at his disposal in his father's shop, and he studied all the sheet music available in the shop.
Unrestricted by rules of "teaching", he remained highly original in developing his unique musical personality, that allowed him to surpass the other leading composers of his time. But having no teachers who would connect him into the entrenched musical establishment, it took all his genius, persistence and determination to advance through the rigid class structure of Victorian society. In 1889 Elgar married his student, Alice Roberts, daughter of the late General Sir Henry Roberts. She married beneath herself in opposition to her relatives. Alice played a vital role in Elgar's career by keeping a dogged faith in his genius.
Elgar was 42 when his "Enigma Variations" (1899) was premiered in London and brought him the first big success outside of his native Worcester. The performance of "The Dream of Gerontius" (1900) at the Rhine Festival in Dusseldorf earned him highest praise from Richard Strauss, who considered Elgar as the first English progressive musician.
The Coronation Ode "Land of Hope and Glory" came from his first "Pomp and Circumstance March" in D major (1901). Elgar prophesied: "I've got a tune that will knock'em-knock'em flat!... a tune like that comes once in a lifetime..." This piece became extremely popular and was later used in more than 30 films. In 1904 an all-Elgar festival was held at Covent Garden. In July of 1904, Elgar was knighted by King Edward VII.
Spending the winter of 1907-08 in Italy, Elgar composed the "Symphony No 1" in A flat. In just one year it had 100 performances all over Europe and in America, Australia and Russia, and was compared to the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven. The "Symphony No 2" in E flat was written during 1909-1911. It was dedicated to the memory of King Edward VII and was considered by many the greatest of Elgar's symphonic works.
Elgar's incidental music for a children's play "The Starlight Express" (1915) and his patriotic "The Spirit of England" (1917) on the war poems by Laurence Binyon preceded his last great masterpiece, the elegiac "Cello Concerto" in E minor (1919). It was used as a main theme in Hilary and Jackie (1998).
The death of Alice Elgar in 1920 took away much of Elgar's inspiration and will to write music. He made a series of studio recordings of his works for HMV. In 1928 he was created Knight Commander of the Victorian Order (K.C.V.O.). In 1933 he recorded his "Violin Concerto" in B minor with then young Yehudi Menuhin and a few weeks later both flew to Paris for performances of this concerto. Elgar died on February 23, 1934 and was laid to rest beside his wife.- Corse Payton was born in December 1868 in Centerville, Iowa, USA. He was an actor, known for Supper at Six (1933). He was married to Henrietta Brown (actress) and Etta Reed (actress). He died on 23 February 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
- Animation Department
- Director
- Writer
John Coleman Terry was born in 1880. John Coleman was a director and writer, known for Judge's Crossword Puzzle No. 1 (1925), Judge's Crossword Puzzle No. 2 (1925) and Charlie's White Elephant (1916). John Coleman died on 23 February 1934 in Coral Gables, Florida, USA.- Odd Frogg was born on 13 October 1901 in Hønefoss, Norway. He was an actor, known for Fantegutten (1932) and Lalla vinner! (1932). He died on 23 February 1934 in Oslo, Norway.
- Lost her father in the age of four, and her family moved to Kristiania, now Oslo. On stage from 1908, she became an actress at Det Norske Teatret from the start in 1913, a leading actress there for many years.
At her best in comedy, often with a grotesque way of acting, which made her very popular among the audience. From 1929 until her untimely death of a lung disease in 1934, she was engaged at Det Nye Teater, also in Oslo.
Mother of actress Turid Haaland, (1908-1979) and sister of stage actress Mary Carenius Magnussen (1886-1969).